Water main break in Brookfield leads to early dismissal for school



BROOKFIELD (WITI) -- Children at St. Dominic School in Brookfield were dismissed early on Monday, September 30th due to a water main break -- the second water main break in Brookfield in less than 24 hours.

"There was a water leak under the ground so there was no water in the school and the principal announced since there was no water, we get to have early release. I thought it was pretty fun!" third-grader Katherine Rogers said.

"Fun" isn't the word many parents used, who had to scramble to find a way to get their kids home early in the day on Monday.

"I thought, 'beautiful day to be out of school,' but 'darn, that messes with my schedule,' but it's okay," Patti Burbach said.

School officials say the city let them know about the water main break just off Capitol Drive around 8:30 Monday morning. In order to fix the problem, crews had to shut off water to the school.

"Quite a big effort to make sure our parents are informed and all the children get home safe," St. Dominic School Principal Jill Fischer said.

Before the building went dry, students filled two-gallon jugs of water, which sat in the bathroom as the only means of plumbing for the remaining three hours of class.

While workers made repairs, parents lined the parking lot -- most of whom could only smile about what brought them back to the school before noon.

"We're all parents. We're all moms. We get it. This is our number one job so this is a priority so we do what we have to do to take care of our children," Burbach said.

The superintendent of Brookfield's water utility says the water main break was due to aging infrastructure. He expects repairs to be done by the end of the day, and the school plans to reopen on Tuesday.